A Complete 180
by Penelope36
Summary: This story takes place during the last episode of Jonas Season 1  Exam Jam  but it was modified and extended to go with the blossoming of a Nacy romance. I wrote this with the intention of trying to bridge the story gap between Jonas and Jonas L.A. NACY
1. Chapter 1

**A Complete 180**

Ch 1. Desperate Times Call for Desperate Means

"So this is Macy Misa reporting live from the Lucas Household," Macy said into her digital camera as she zoomed in on the reactions of each Lucas brother upon hearing that Nick, the boy three points shy of being a genius, was in fact the one who failed his geometry final. The look of utter disbelief and sadness was apparent in the youngest member of the band Jonas.

"I can't believe it," Nick said as he plopped down into the nearest armchair. "How is it that I failed my geometry test just before the tour? What am I going to do now…"

He put his face into his hands as if he faced defeat. He wasn't trying to be dramatic but Macy loved the footage she was getting. Albeit she was saddened by the fact that the Jonas tour may be cancelled because of Nick going to summer school. She already had her full Jonas gear ready for when she planned to attend their show in Camden. Despite all that, she did not want to disappoint her Jonas heads so she zoomed in or rather placed the camera right in front of his face with the narration, "What will Nick of Jonas do? Is this the end of Jonas? Who would have thought geometry out of all things would break up the band?"

She would have continued her narration of suspense and intrigue if it wasn't for Nick glaring through the screen of her camera.

"Ah Macy, I think you should step away from Nick right now," Stella said cautiously as she grabbed the petite brunette away from an already frustrated Nick Lucas.

Macy was about to close her camera when Mr. Lucas came bursting back into the room to announce that Mr. Peterson, Nick's geometry teacher was going to give him a second chance to retake the exam on Monday and if he passed he wouldn't have to take summer class and more importantly the tour wouldn't have to be cancelled.

"That's awesome!" yelled Joe who sprang up from his depressed state after learning that the tour may have been cancelled.

"Yeah Nick all you need to do is ace the exam and we're good to go," exclaimed Kevin.

Joe and Kevin high- fived to the sound of that and were glad that the tour was going to happen after all.

Although Nick was excited about getting a second chance, he was always one to think ahead.

"That's easier said than done, bro," Nick said. "The key phrase here is _passing_ the exam. How am I going to learn a year's worth of geometry in one weekend!"

And out of nowhere Macy blurted out, "I can tutor you!"

She said it with such enthusiasm and excitement that everyone stared at her like the crazed fan that she was.

"Uhhhh.." Nick had a look of apprehension that only came when he was near an overzealous fan and well, Macy fit that description to a tee.

But thankfully his brothers butted in and Kevin said politely, "It's alright Macy we got this. Joe and I took geometry last year we can help our lil' bro out."

Joe was hesitant at first to agree with Kevin because he knew for a fact that the only reason he passed geometry was because his teacher's daughter was a big fan of his. He even had an inkling that his exam counted as a prized autograph for her.

Macy felt a little embarrassed after her outburst. She could tell she freaked Nick out a bit and she wanted to kick herself because she was already starting to become "normal" around them and she so desperately wanted to be in their good graces. She envied Stella's calm, cool, and collective demeanor around them while she was still a major klutz at heart.

"No, no no," Stella said with a voice of reason. "Macy's actually really good in math. Aren't you Macy?"

"Huh?" she was lost in her thoughts of self-pity when Stella nudged her in the rib.

"I was telling the boys that you are great in math so it isn't that weird for you to offer Nick help with your mathematical expertise," Stella said again. "I mean it'll be better than having Joe help."

"Hey I resent that!" Joe yelled but Stella gave him a look that said are _you really going to argue with me on this. _

"Oh yeah. I mean I can totally help you out if you want," Macy said again this time trying to contain her excitement. _Don't make any more sudden outbursts and scare a Jonas_ she mentally noted.

"I didn't know you took geometry," Nick said still unsure if this was one of Macy's fan-crazed schemes to get closer to him. "You're not even in my class."

At least he didn't think so. It was hard keeping track on who was in his class because he was always distracted by a certain girl named Penny who forever remained the girl of his dreams. But Macy was an exception. He would have certainly known if she was in his class because Macy has a tendency of making her presence known especially in front of any member of Jonas. As he could remember he didn't recall any crazy fan-girl antics happening in Mr. Peterson's class. Thus no Macy in his class.

"That's because I'm taking advance geometry and trigonometry with Mrs. West," Macy said matter-of-factly as she regained confidence to redeem herself in the eyes of the Jonas. "Everything you learned this quarter we already went over and I have some old exams that could be of great use…that is if you want me to help you."

As much as she wanted to be casual about it all, she couldn't help but stare at Nick with anticipated excitement. Could it be that she will be getting her chance to actually _help out_ a Jonas in a time of need? Could the heavens have actually heard her pleas and granted this sole wish of Macy Misa, who breathes and lives for everything Jonas? _Don't get carried away Macy _she told herself _he could say no…_

Nick thought about it for a second. He really needed all the help he needed especially if he wanted to go on tour. Sure his brothers passed geometry but the idea of them helping him out was not that appealing especially since he knew Kevin and Joe often went on tangents when trying to explain something to him. And Stella did say Macy was surprisingly a math genius with the credentials to match so before he could take his words back he said, "Okay sure Macy I'll take you up on your offer."

Macy almost fainted when she heard his response and out of pure fan instinct she ran up and gave him a great big hug and said repeatedly "Thank you thank you thank you!"

"Errr.. Too close for comfort," Nick said as Macy seemed to be squeezing the life out of him. "Help! Can't feel my legs…"

It took Kevin and Joe to detach Macy from Nick.

"Nick 101," Kevin started to say. "He hates hugs. It's part of his people-phobia."

"Yeah we always need to find a way to sedate him before fan meet and greets," Joe piped in with a chuckle.

"Sorry about that," Macy said sheepishly. "I just couldn't help it. …well yeah…But rest assure, you won't regret it Nick! I'm going to make sure you'll pass this test if it's the last thing I do."

"Come on Macy, I think we should go it's getting pretty late," Stella said as she grabbed her stuff and waved good bye.

Macy walked out of the room with a noticeable bounce in her step as she smiled at all three brothers and waved good bye.

"I hope you know what you have gotten yourself into," Joe said in a what-were-you-thinking-kind of voice.

It was valid though because right now as much as Nick was desperate to go on tour he wasn't sure if spending one-on-one time with Macy Misa , the self-proclaimed Jonas #1 Super Fan was the wise choice after all.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch 2. Triangles, Circles, and Pizza

Macy felt like she had died and gone to fan-girl heaven. She screamed into her pillow from excitement.

"Gosh, why do I have such a freak for an older sister," her little brother Liam said as he entered her room.

"Liam, did you ever hear of knocking? GET OUT!" Macy yelled at her annoying brother.

"Okay fine," Liam answered. "I guess I'll tell Stella you're too busy to talk because you are acting like a lunatic…again."

"Give me the phone," Macy demanded and when she was sure Liam was out of ear shot she spoke to her best friend in the whole world. "STELLA! First of, I would like to give you a big THANK YOU for backing me up back there. Nick wouldn't have considered me seriously if you hadn't—

"Macy that's why I called," Stella said. "I mean you're my BFF but you have to get a grip when you're with the Lucas boys. I mean Nick is really upset about failing geometry. He hates letting his fans down. And he's counting on you to pull through."

"I knoowww Stel-la," Macy said. "I hate to brag but I'm great at geometry. Besides who carried the Mathletes to championship last year?"

"You."

"And who helped Randolph, out of all people, ace his trigonometry test last week?"

"You, but that's the thing you don't have fainting spells around normal people like Randolph but with Nick, Joe, and Kevin, you're not your _true_ self, you know what I mean?" Stella said trying not to sound too harsh to her best friend.

"Yeah I do but I've gotten better around them."

"Yes, you have."

"And I might have slipped from my graces today in front of them but I think I can carry myself around Nick. He seems so chill and laid back."

"Good. Because I was starting to worry that you were reverting back to your old ways—

"And he's so dreamy with the way he intensely stares at you with those captivating eyes –

"Macy!"

"And those curls made for an Adonis! How I wish to-

"MACY SNAP OUT OF IT!"

"Oh man did I just…?"

"Yes you did! That's what I'm talking about! You can't just slip into crazy-fan mode," Stella said. "He's relying on you to be serious about this and not just using him."

"Stel-la! I would never ever EVER use a member of a Jonas for any hidden agendas. I can't believe you'd think that."

"I know I'm sorry it's just Joe was just talking to me a while ago and Nick was really stressed out and wasn't sure if you knew how important this was to him."

"Stella, I got this okay?"

"Okaaay. I believe you." But Macy recognized Stella's uneasiness.

"I promise I won't make a fool out of myself and help Nick with the utmost of my abilities. Happy?"

"You swear?"

"I swear."

"Good well you should sleep soon because he's coming over your house 8 in the morning."

"Whatt?"

"Ta-ta." Stella said quickly and hung up.

Macy thought she would be going over to the firehouse the next day but she didn't think he would be coming over! If she wanted to seem like a normal everyday girl to one of the Lucas brothers she's going to have to do a little redecorating. She had an inkling that Nick wouldn't be too comfortable studying in her room especially since her walls were covered with every Jonas photo known to man. It was going to be a long night as she regretfully started pulling photo after photo down. She promised Stella after all.

Nick went to bed that night with an uneasy pit growing inside of him. He still couldn't believe it was him who could disappoint his fans. Luckily, despite his agitation, slumber came smoothly for him and that night Nick welcomed one of his favorite recurring dreams and it involved none other than Penny, oh sweet Penny. He started having these dreams after he had his heart broken but immediately mended when he found out that Penny dumped her boyfriend Jimmy. But it was one of _those _ relationships that even if it was over it really never was because of those pesky lingering feelings that always seemed to get in the way for potential suitors to make their move. The dream of course involved the angelic Penny with her sweet smile. In his dream, he gave Penny VIP tickets and backstage passes to the concert, a feat he was too chicken to accomplish in real life. He admired her and he was sure his dream-self had the courage now to kiss her as he slowly closed the gap in between them -that is before a gust of wind swept past him and Penny was gone. In fact, the wind that swept past him was none other than the Jonas #1 Super Fan herself. And by the looks of it she was involved in a rather intense wrestling matched with Penny for the exclusive tickets. Nick woke up startled that Macy happened to now haunt him in his dreams. The dream spooked him so much that he went over to his desk and opened the drawer to make sure the tickets intended for his angelic sweetheart was still there. The cold laminated ticket confirmed its physical presence.

"Nick, what are you doing?" Joe asked groggily from having been woken up by the blinding light of his desk lamp.

"Nothing," Nick said quickly as he shoved the tickets into the nearest object he could find- his notebook. "Go back to sleep bro."

When he was certain Joe was asleep, Nick shook his head in dismay. He needed to concentrate on passing geometry and forget Penny. Because if he didn't resolve the problem right away, the tickets he planned on giving to her would be useless if there wasn't any tour to go to. _Focus, Nick, Focus. _

Nick was familiar with the area having been locked up there for a day with his brothers when they were trying to prove to their mom that they could handle every day chores. The Misa household was situated in an apartment above their store.

"Oh so you're the Jonas my sister's helping out," said the kid who opened the door. Judging by the same shade of dark brown hair and almond shaped eyes, he must be her brother Nick thought.

"Er…yeah I guess so," Nick answered. "Um, is Macy here?"

"Yeah, she's in her room," the boy answered. "Come on up, I'm sure she'll be glad to see you."

So Nick followed him up the stairs but he didn't catch the little boy snickering to himself.

"Oh Macyyy!" Liam knocked on her door but as was his custom didn't wait for a response. "Come on in Nick."

Macy was still sound asleep dreaming of none other than Jonas related themes when she felt a tug on her shoulder. She hated being bothered when her dream was getting to the good part when she was being saved from the evil witch by none other than three handsome brothers.

"Oh Macy wake up!" Liam said in a sing-song voice as she nudged his sister's shoulder.

"Liam! Leave me alone! I'm trying to get my beauty rest," she said groggily.

"Yeah like that's really helping you out," Liam teased. "Oh wake up big sister! Don't forget you have a special guest this morning."

By that, Macy's eyes opened wide as she looked at her clock that said 8:15.

"Oh crap!" she jumped out of bed and when she turned to face her brother, she noticed he wasn't alone.

Nick had to do a double take when he saw Macy or what he thought could be Macy behind the green mask and head gear she was wearing. He could tell she was absolutely shocked and mortified to see him there but Nick could not help but smirk and give a little chuckle.

"Hey Macy," Nick said quite amused. He tried to be a gentleman and excuse her appearance but frankly he thought her appearance was too funny to not betray his true emotion.

"N-n-nick of Jonas," Macy said in complete shock. "Oh my gawd. I totally forgot to wake up. I'm so sorry."

She put her hand to her face and that's when she realized she still had her avocado face mask on and her night braces. It would be the biggest understatement of the year to say that Macy was completely embarrassed. The only thing she was thankful for was that her mask was able to cover the blush she felt coming across her cheeks.

"Liam…" she said through gritted teeth. "You are so dead!"

The young boy ran out of the room laughing his way down the hallway.

"Um I guess I should let you get ready," Nick said trying his best to keep a straight face and he too left leaving Macy alone to recover from total fan-girl embarrassment.

When Macy finished getting ready, she found Nick waiting in the living room watching Saturday morning cartoons with Liam.

"Hey," Macy called sheepishly. "Nick of Jonas, are you ready to hit the books?"

Nick situated himself in Macy's room. It was a quaint little room now that he observed it. He noticed all of her sport gear overflowing from her closet and remembered all the times she managed to injure the boys every time she was near them. Nick was thankful that none of her sport equipment was in her hands right now.

"So Nick of Jonas," Macy said calmly trying her best to act "normal" around him. "Where did you leave off in Mr. Peterson's class?"

"Macy?"

"Yes, Nick of Jonas?"

"Can you please stop that?"

"Stop what Nick of Jonas?" Macy asked innocently. She thought she was acting completely normal. For sure, Stella would be so proud.

"Calling me Nick of Jonas," he said exasperatingly with air quotes. "It's kind of awkward."

"Oh really? Sorry Nick of—I mean—Nick…just Nick…."

"It's like if I call you Macy of School all the time," Nick explained as he leaned back in his chair. "Hello Macy of School? How are you Macy of School. Blah blah blah Macy of School. Get the picture?"

"I see then," Macy said as she smiled back at him. "No more Nick of Jonas. Just Nick."

"Good," Nick said relieved to get that out of the way. "So we covered triangles and the trigonometric functions like sine, cosine, and tangent."

"Okay that's pretty easy…Nick," Macy said as she looked through his notebook and as she flipped through his notebook two laminated tickets fell onto her lap. Completely forgetting her promise to Stella and to herself, she lifted the two glorious pieces of laminated cardboard she has ever seen- a VIP pass and backstage pass to the Jonas concert. Her awestruck face must have been apparent to Nick since he quickly snatched them from her and gave a nervous laugh.

"Oh how did that get there," he said nervously not wanting Macy to revert back to her crazy side and con him into giving them to her because the look she was giving him right now was the same look of envy she had in his dream.

"Are those what I think they are?" Macy said as she beamed at him excitedly.

_It was too late. She already had that crazed look in her eyes._

"Um…yeah…but I'm kind of planning on giving them to someone else," Nick said rather quickly. It was hard for Nick to lie and he knew telling the truth was the safest route especially since he did not want to repeat the whole Malcolm Mekle situation. Frankly, he was kind of scared of how she might react to that though.

Macy was disappointed but who was she kidding? There was no way Nick would just freely give her tickets.

"Look maybe this was a bad idea," Nick said as he got up.

"No no no! Please don't leave," Macy said. "No more fan girl moments. I pinky promise."

She held out her pinky as a sign of how serious she was going to be from now on.

Nick sighed and decided to give her another chance as he linked his pinky with hers.

Macy took a deep breath and kept a mantra going in her head as she helped Nick tackle some problems. _He's just a normal guy. Don't freak out. _She kept saying that in her head for the first couple of minutes until it became innate in her consciousness that she almost completely forgot that Nick happened to be part of a platinum selling group called Jonas.

"So then you multiply this by pi and there you have it," Macy said as she finished solving one of the trigonometric problems Nick was having a hard time on.

"Wow that's it?" Nick said as he held the paper with all the solutions in front of him. "That wasn't that bad."

"See, you just need to remember all the formulas and everything will come easily to you," said Macy who was gleaming with pride. "It's like a puzzle."

"Wow, Mace, you're actually a decent tutor," Nick complimented her. "I guess I did make the right choice after all."

Macy laughed and said, "Thanks."

And when she was just self-congratulating herself for a job well-done and more importantly for keeping her cool with Nick, her stomach made a loud growl.

"Errm…sorry about that," Macy said sheepishly.

But Nick just laughed it off and suggested that maybe a break from studying was in order and of course, Nick suggested they order pizza from Picarillo's. Macy wanted to argue his food of choice because frankly, Picarillo's had the worst tasting pizza in town but she was reminded that Nick was a guest and a Jonas so she kept her mouth shut. But when they both went down to get the pizza Macy knew why Nick was so keen to order pizza. It was none other than the beautiful pizza girl Maria.

"Hi Maria," Nick said dreamily. He, of course, knew he had no chance with her but she was his first crush so it was still taking him time to get over her.

"Oh hey Nick," Maria said sweetly. "That'll be $10.50."

But Nick did not budge. Macy could not help but chuckle at the smitten Jonas. It was definitely a change seeing Nick having a fan-boy moment himself.

"Thanks Maria," Macy said as she gave the cash.

"Hope you enjoy your pizza!" she said.

"Oh we will," Macy said and she closed the door shut which brought back Nick to real life.

"I'm starving!" Nick exclaimed.

Macy laughed. "I'm sure you are."

But they didn't just eat pizza. In fact, Macy ingeniously incorporated geometric concepts while eating the pizza.

"So this (the pizza pie) is a circle which has?"

"360 degrees."

"And we take half of it away, which leaves us with?"

"180 degrees."

"Correct. Now cosine of zero degrees in a unit circle equals what?"

"Um…one?"

"Are you asking or telling me?"

"Telling you?" But Macy gave him a stern look and he adjusted his statement to fit less of a question.

"Okay then cosine of 180 degrees following the same concept is what?"

Nick was stumped. He had a problem memorizing numerical concepts and this was no exception but Macy thankfully was patient with him and offered him some pointers.

"Nick, just remember 180 degrees is just the complete opposite of where you started from," Macy explained. "So if this is positive one then following the same logic 180 degrees is…"

It took Nick awhile before he said, "Negative one?"

"Correct!" Macy exclaimed. "Just remember zero and 180 degrees are polar opposites like 90 and 270 degrees."

"And you did it again," Nick simply said as he stared at the girl in front of him in awe.

"What?"

"Took something that made absolutely no sense to me make sense," Nick said matter-of-factly. "Who knew pizza not only tasted good but also could be used as a vital teaching tool."

Macy laughed in agreement.

"Now let's dig in."

Today Nick was truly surprised by Macy. Not only did she happen to be a great tutor but she was also a hefty eater. If he got this right, Macy ate 180 degrees of the pizza pie before he was even done with his third slice. Pretty impressive for the petite brunette. But what was more remarkable was the fact that all feelings of awkwardness between them vanished. Instead of eating in silence, Nick found himself engaging in an in-depth analysis of the Yankees Baseball line-up with Macy who was also a big sports fanatic.

On the other hand, Macy was completely enjoying Nick's company but she never really would have thought otherwise. Out of all the brothers Nick was the one she hardly spoke to before. She and Joe had their moment together when she went on a double date with him and Stella and van Dyke. And she always had a special connection with Kevin ever since he gave her his lucky boot that one time she lost her lucky charm. But Nick…not so much. Don't get her wrong though. She knew Nick would be easy to get along with although he was the most serious out of the three. He was just very in tune with himself and enjoyed being by himself or at least that was what she perceived of him after having read so many interviews about him in magazines and observing him from first hand experience. But right now she was seeing a completely different side of him- a relaxed and care free side. They were laughing at a sports joke he just told and Macy found herself admiring his infectious laughter. It was cute just like everything about him.

It was getting late and Nick found himself yawning time and time again as he poured over his math textbook.

"I think we should call it a day," Macy said as she too felt her eyes growing tired. "Same time tomorrow?"

Nick gave her a sideway glance and said, "Well I mean that depends on you. You think you can wake up this time?"

Macy smiled back at him and nodded. She walked him out to the door and watched him leave and stop mid way from her porch. Nick turned around and said, "I really appreciate this Macy."

"Oh no problem," Macy assured him. "It's the least I could do."

"Well thanks again for being such a good friend," he said as he waved good-bye.

Macy's mouth hung open as she stood speechless in her porch. _Did Nick just call her a friend? And not just friend but a GOOD friend?_ Macy felt like she died and went to—wait she reminded herself this was not a fan-girl moment. She needed to correct herself. This was more than that. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch. 3 The Beginning

Macy just couldn't choose. It was impossible. IMPOSSIBLE. She loved all three of them equally. She admired Kevin's goofy and wild side. And she went completely gaga over Joe's cool and suave demeanor. And she marveled over Nick's captive stare and intensity. They were all together the complete package. The JONAS. Macy Misa was a devout fan of the whole group. How can you like one over the other? They were like the three points of a triangle. You take one over the other two and you break the sacred group and that wasn't very fan-like of her to do that. That's what she kept telling herself.

But she wasn't thinking about all three Jonai when she sat on her bed. The words kept ringing through her ears. _Thanks again for being such a good friend._ The smile that was on her face for the past couple of hours hasn't lost its sentiment. Nick Lucas actually called her a friend. A friend! No longer was she Macy Misa crazy super fan to him but a friend which was definitely a step up from her past status.

"What's the matter with you?" Liam asked his sister as he stared at the goofy expression on Macy's face which now quickly turned into a scowl as she hurled a pillow at him.

"Liam how many times do I have to tell you to knock!" Macy yelled. It was bad enough that she had no lock on her door to keep her pesky little brother away.

"I just wanted to know if I can borrow your baseball mitt?" he asked as he leaned against her door frame.

Macy stared at her brother with contempt.

"As if!" she yelled now getting up from her bed. "And don't think I forgot what you did this morning! I believe it's payback time!"

Liam knew his sister was being serious and he ran as fast as he could away from his sister who was determined to give him the wedgie of his nightmare. He was still recovering from the last one she gave him when he told van Dyke that Macy cried like a baby when she lost against his softball team.

Meanwhile, Nick was actually giving hope to the situation now that he knew Macy was capable of knocking some geometry sense into him.

"So how did it go Nicholas?" Joseph asked him quizzically as Nick reclined in his arm chair exhausted from learning trigonometric equations.

"Fine, Joseph," Nick said curtly. More than anything, he just wanted some shut-eye and not to be pestered by his annoying older brothers.

"Do tell, lil' one," Kevin said in voice that can only be described as his karate master mode. He had a tendency to do that especially when he finished a game of hacky sack.

"It went well. What more can I say?" Nick said exasperatingly. He just wanted some peace and quiet.

"You mean she didn't try to harass you into telling any Jonas secrets?" Joe pestered on.

"And she didn't even bruise you at all?" Kevin asked miraculously as he lifted Nick's arm for inspection.

"No and no," Nick said as he snatched his arm away from his brother's grasp. "Now can I please go to sleep. I need to go there early tomorrow."

"Wow so there's a second visit, huh?" Joe said directed more to Kevin who was also intrigued by this information.

"Looks like things are getting pretty serious with Macy Misa," Kevin joked. He and Joe loved teasing their younger brother.

"Oh Macy I looovee you," Joe said in his girliest voice.

"Yeah or this one, Macy please let me measure your circumference," Kevin said before realizing how un-Jonas-like that comment was but before Joe could say anything Nick butted in while still feigning sleep and said "Keep that up and I'm gonna start considering telling Macy some of your deepest secrets to post on her website."

And with that Kevin and Joe kept their mouth shut.

Nick was motivated to learn more geometry now that he knew how great of a teacher Macy was. His new found hope made him confident that he could actually pass the retake exam. He was not bothered by Liam who this morning didn't seem as spunky as yesterday. Little did he know that it was due to the fact that he was still recovering from the major wedgie Macy gave him the night before. So Nick led his way up to Macy's room and said, "Macy you ready to tackle more prob—

But he had to stop midway because when he opened the door to her room he found himself in yet another compromising situation with the petite brunette. Instead of the night braces and green mask, Nick interrupted her while she was changing clothes and got a good view of her in her underwear. Of course he knew it would be best to shut the door and apologize especially since Macy was caught off guard and she was at a lost of words. But for some reason the Lucas boy who was known for thinking on his feet and being the most sensible brother froze and could not help but notice that her years doing sports were doing good for her body in more ways than one.

"Nick?" Macy said quite alarmed that Nick was just standing there with his mouth hanging open in mid-sentence while was now covering herself with her bed sheet. "Would you mind closing the door?"

He cleared his throat trying to regain composure and said, "Ahem, yeah, I think that would be best."

But when he shut the door both of them shared the same thought, Macy thinking _Was he just checking me out?_ And Nick asking himself disbelievingly, _Did I just get turned on by Macy Misa?_

He was a boy of course so it was natural he reasoned with himself to have his heart beating fast and his pants feeling a bit tighter after laying eyes on a half-naked girl-Macy or not, it was part of being a boy going through puberty. He was human after all and Macy was a girl so that had to be why he was waiting in the hall way holding his books over his crotch area hoping any one of her family members walking by would not notice his current condition.

"Uh…Nick?" he heard Macy call after him.

"Oh hey!" he said wondering how out of it he really was.

"Are you okay?" she asked as she peered over him with worried eyes.

"Me? Oh yeah I'm fine," he said lifting his arms to show he was healthy but then bringing them quickly down to cover up his _condition_. "But…um…sorry about before."

"It's okay," she said quickly who was equally embarrassed about the whole situation. "Let's just forget about it?"

"Yeah that'll be awesome," Nick said but once again he didn't realize then that would be easier said than done.

So they headed back in her room and poured over more formulas and problems. Nick still recovering from this morning shock kept a bit of a distance from him and Macy. It took him awhile to get back to normal especially when he noticed that Macy was wearing some sort of perfume that smelled like lilacs. It was nice.

"Nick are you paying attention?" Macy asked concerned as she waved a hand over his face. She was worried about Nick's odd behavior. For starter's he was sitting a good foot away from her and he seemed to be in a daze.

"What? Yeah, sorry," Nick said. "Just a lot on my mind."

"Maybe we should take a break," she suggested. She didn't want to overwork him and make him overturn her whole friend status. He seemed kind of distant now and she wanted to have that connection again. So they had a lunch break and Macy thought the best route to get him to talk to her was to be upfront and ask him, "So who is she?"

"What?" Nick asked because he wasn't thinking of anyone in particular well except for the girl sitting in front of him but he sure was not going to admit that right now.

"The girl that's got you in this daze," Macy giggled. She has seen that look countless times on Stella's face every time she looked at Joe.

"It's no one," Nick said quickly. _Since when has Macy been so perceptive?_

"Oh come on, Nick, I'm your friend," she said albeit hesitantly because she wasn't sure if she should have used that term so openly just yet.

But Nick didn't think much of it and tried to eat his pizza in peace but Macy wouldn't back off. _Guess it's in her nature to always get the scoop_ he thought but there was no chance in hell he was going to admit to Macy that the reason he was acting a bit weird was that the image of her half naked was still seared into his brain. No chance in hell.

But that wasn't what Macy was hinting at after all when she said further, "So there's no girl that you're planning to give those tickets away to, huh?"

"Oh," he finally said when he realized this was actually safe waters for her to tread on. "That…it's not really that big of a deal. I don't think she would even want them."

He remembered quite well how Penny wasn't that fazed when he made a song for her and even had the nerve to dedicate that song to her boyfriend Johnny or was it Jimmy? He really didn't care for him so it didn't matter.

"Who on earth wouldn't want those tickets?" Macy exclaimed showing part of her fan-girl moment which caught Nick off guard because he thought they were all past that. But he was surprised when she said more calmly, "But Nick, any girl would be touched by your gesture. I mean it's the thought that counts right?"

"That's true," he said slowly. "It's just that she's kind of in a relationship but not really, you know?"

"Oh I see," Macy said knowingly. "It's like she kind of has a boyfriend but they're not really together but they kind of are so it's hard for you to make your move since you're not sure if she's even fair game. Right?"

"Exactly," Nick agreed. He was really starting to like how easy it was for him to talk to Macy which was something he never saw coming in a billion years. She somehow just got him.

"Well I can help you with that," Macy offered. "She's in the varsity tennis team which I am captain of. She knows I'm a complete Jonas fan and I'll just go up to her and casually say that she won one of my Jonas raffles in my website and give her the tickets saving you humiliation if she is in fact still with her boyfriend and giving her the tickets as well. It's a win-win situation."

"You'd really do that for me?" Nick said really touched by her kind gesture that was really beyond his expectations. "That's really cool of you Mace."

"No problem. What are friends for?" she said emphasizing the word again hoping that this kind act wouldn't go unnoticed and keep her under his friend list for at least a while longer.

"Well I mean I would do it myself but…" he paused because he just realized that she was missing one important detail. "Wait a minute. I didn't even tell you who she is…?"

Macy gave him her knowing smile. One of the great things about Nick was that he was a loyal guy even with his crushes. Despite Maria the pizza girl, Nick was deeply infatuated by a pretty blonde haired blue-eyed girl named Penny. Like his brothers mentioned before, when Nick falls for someone he falls hard and it was obvious for people watching from the outside who it was he was targeting.

"Nick, it's- ahem- obvious," Macy said as she cleared her throat mid-way. Her throat for some reason was getting really dry.

But he didn't say anything and waited for her to continue.

"I mean it is Penny, right?" For some reason, saying her name left a sour taste in her mouth.

Nick smiled and said, "I guess there's no fooling you."

"Yeah, I guess there's not," she said happy that she was able to make him smile.

Nick was glad that Macy was able to forget about the whole morning incident and even make a self-less offer to help him out. She was a completely different girl to him now and he liked it.

"Hey, Mace," he said admiringly. "You're really a cool girl. I can honestly now understand why you and Stella are such good friends."

"Th-thanks," Macy replied as she felt her cheeks warm up. It was suddenly getting really hot in the room and for reasons unknown to her, she started feeling queasy. Maybe it was the pizza. _Picarillo's _really had awful tasting pizza. But while his compliment was definitely surprising what got to her more was the fact that when she looked down in her lap, the napkin she was holding was completely shredded to pieces. She didn't even realize she was doing that for the past couple of minutes. It was a habit she was known to do when she was bothered by something.

"Macy?" Nick called her as he waved a hand in front of her face. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Macy asked. She was completely out of it and it didn't help that when she looked up at him she found herself completely absorbed into his intense stare which right now was looking back at her with concern. But she couldn't say anything as her eyes wandered to his curls, curls she wished she could run her fingers through and those heart-shaped lips that she wished to ki—_woah, Macy caught herself before finishing that thought._ She was not going to go there. Nick Lucas was just a friend, a very attractive friend to be exact. She didn't like Nick in _that _way, who was she kidding. Besides he likes _Penny_, the blonde-hair blue-eyed beauty…everything she was not physically. She would have gone on defending her belief that there was no possible way she could like Nick Lucas, global heartthrob if it wasn't for the said boy trying to get her attention on a problem he was working on.

With the little time they had left, Nick and Macy went over every geometric concept known in the past seven chapters they reviewed.

"And the quadratic formula?" she asked him as they were about to wrap the night up.

"Its negative B plus or minus the square root of B squared minus four A C over two A," Nick answered verbatim from memory.

"Correct!" Macy squealed as she put her hand up for a high five. "And that's it. Nick you did it!"

"Wow I can't believe we actually finished everything. That's awesome," he said not realizing that he accidentally clasped his hand with hers from their previous high-five. He wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't looked at Macy who was very aware of their linked hands. He quickly let go and apologized "Oh sorry about that I'm just feeling really good about this. I actually think I can pass this thing."

"Y-yeah definitely," Macy said as she recovered from the whole hand holding incident. Her heart began to beat really fast. "Just remember everything I taught you and you'll be good to go."

"Wow thanks, Macy," Nick said finally as he looked over the last problem sheet he finished. "For believing in this hopeless cause."

Macy rolled her eyes and simply stated, "You just need more confidence in yourself. It was all you. I just guided you through it."

"Well I just know that all of this didn't make sense until you explained it to me," he said as he looked up from his paper. He looked at Macy waiting for her to say something but she was staring at him with an odd expression on her face. It made him uneasy but it wasn't the Macy-Misa-fan-girl look she was giving him. It was something else. It was as if she was waiting to do something or maybe for him to make some sort of move. He wasn't sure what that was just yet.

"So…"he finally said to break the awkward silence. "It's getting pretty late. I should go."

"Oh yeah," Macy said as she quickly was brought back to earth from spazzing out. "You need to rest up before the big day."

He got up and gathered his stuff and was almost out the door when he remembered something.

"Oh yeah I forgot to give you these!" he said as he rummaged through his bag and gave Macy the two passes for the concert.

For one spastic moment, Macy forgot that she was suppose to give them to Penny and was so touched that Nick was giving her a present.

"For me?" she said clearly touched.

"They're for Penny, remember?" Nick reminded her hesitantly.

"Oh yeah," said Macy as she quickly snapped out of it. "For Penny, the girl who you like. Yeah, I knew that."

"Thanks again," Nick said as he flashed his rare smile with teeth at her.

He was about to walk out the door when Macy yelled, "Nick wait!"

"Yeah?"

It was the last day she would be of any use to him. He wouldn't be coming over anymore…and she didn't want their last interaction to revolve around Penny.

"Good luck tomorrow," she finally said as she got one final look at him.

"Thanks."

She closed the door after him and sat on the floor leaning her head back against the wall. _Get a grip, Macy_. But she did not realize that it was too late to hold on because she was already falling too deep. The funny thing was that it was only the beginning.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch. 4 90 degrees

It's official. Nick loved to sleep and not jut for the obvious health reasons. It was because during this time Nick got the courage to actually speak to Penny without making a big fool out of himself. Dream- Nick was in the process of serenading dream-Penny about why he liked her and he was even dancing quite well in fact. They were standing in an empty outdoor stage. And the sky was full of stars. It was a perfect night. There was a picnic basket in the middle of the stage and candles surrounded them to give the whole scene an ethereal glow.

"Nick, this is…wow," dream-Penny said clearly amazed by this romantic gesture. "I can't believe you did all of this for me."

Dream-Nick was so happy that he took both of her hands into his and said, "You shouldn't be surprised because…I love you, Macy."

"Macy?" dream-Penny cried out now whisking her hands away from his.

How could his dream-self make such a fatal blunder? It didn't help that now instead of dream-Penny facing him, there stood a dream-Macy looking up at him with that same odd expression on her face as if she was waiting…waiting for something. And then she finally spoke.

"Nick, I love you too."

And just like that, dream-Nick vanished immediately and the real Nick quickly sat up from his disturbing dream. He scratched his head. _What in the world was that about?_ This was the second time that Macy infiltrated his dreams when he least expected it. _He didn't love Macy, _he scoffed at the idea, _that was far from it_. He excused his dream blunder to the fact that he spent the last 48 hours with the particular girl so it was natural for him to think about her in his unconsciousness. Yup that was it he reasoned with himself. It was inevitable like when he blamed puberty and hormones for his condition when seeing Macy dressing up. _Crap._ Now he had the image of a _half-naked _Macy Misa stuck in his head. There was no way he could go back to sleep now. He needed a glass of warm milk.

He was surprised to see someone already beat him to the punch and was sitting on a kitchen stool enjoying a cup of milk himself.

"Frankie, lil' bro what are you doing up?" Nick asked as he ruffled his younger brother's hair.

"Couldn't sleep," he simply said. "Bad dreams. You know the kind."

"Yes I do," Nick said as he poured himself a glass of milk. "What was it this time? Dragons? Vampires?"

Frankie looked at him with scornful look and said, "Even worse. Girls."

Nick almost choked on his milk from his unexpected response. Since when does an eight-year-old boy have dreams about girls?

Nick tried to be serious and said, "Well lay it on me. What kind of girl dream did you have?"

"The worst kind because it had the worst girl in it," Frankie said simply.

"Frankie," Nick said reproachfully. "That's not a very gentleman thing to say."

"Okay I know I'm sorry," Frankie said not sounding sorry at all. "It's just that Cynthia is always bothering me in real life and now she even annoys me in my sleep! It's not fair."

"Well, what exactly does she do to annoy you?"

"The question should be what she doesn't do to get to me?" Frankie said frustrated. "She always trying get close to me and she's always chases me when we play tag. And get this! She told the other boys in class she thought I was cute! Cute! Do you know what that could do to my reputation?"

Nick now couldn't help but laugh.

"Frankie, she likes you," Nick said. "Why don't you just be nice to her and let her know you just want to be friends. Maybe she'll surprise you."

"How so?"

"Well," Nick continued while clearing his throat. "You know Macy, Stella's friend?"

"Yeah, the crazy one?"

Nick winced at that remark.

"Er…yeah her," Nick continued. "Well that's the thing. I thought she was crazy at first but once I got to know her she turned out to be a really cool person."

"So you're saying I should be friendly to Cynthia?" Frankie said not really sure if he should take this advice.

"Just be civil about it," Nick said. "Get to know her and who knows maybe she'll end up being one of your closest friends too."

Frankie looked at his brother skeptically. He always looked up to his older brothers especially Nick and so he considered this.

"Okay so I should give Cynthia a chance and maybe she'll surprise me like how Macy surprised you?"

Nick thought about this and a smile crept on his face.

"Exactly," Nick agreed because whether he could control it or not Macy was slowly wedging a well-earned spot in his life _and_ heart as well.

It was a restless night for Macy Misa. She kept tossing and turning in her sleep because she could not get the thought _of pushing Penny into a bottomless vortex so she could vanish from the face of the earth_ out of her head. No Macy Misa wasn't evil and she certainly wasn't a crazy jealous _friend_. Friend…the word lingered in her mind. She wanted to be a friend to Nick especially since their friendship blossomed just recently…She couldn't screw that up. His friendship to her was much too important to her. Besides she didn't _like _him in _that way_. She loved all the Lucas boys equally. _Right?_

What she didn't understand was why the idea of Nick crushing on another girl was making her stomach tie in knots and making her mouth taste sour after saying _Penny's_ name. When Kevin had Anya, Macy wasn't bothered that much. In fact she found it quite sweet that Kevin, the goofball that he is, found someone equally as goofy as him. And she never found herself overcome with a jealous rage against Stella when she shared a kiss with Joe. They were meant to be after all. But Nick…the boy who only a couple of days ago was no longer a mystery to her, somehow got to her.

Macy shook her head as if that act alone would wear away the last lingering thought swirling in her mind. Because she knew she was a devout Jonas fan. She loved them all, she kept reminding herself. But a voice inside of her head was telling her that the triangle she created of the three brothers was no longer equal. One of them was now clearly above the rest.

Macy Misa treated herself to big cup of coffee to compensate for the lack of sleep she had last night.

"And Macy don't forget to pick up the old uniforms from your school today," her mom reminded her.

"Sure no problem," she replied as she did her best to suppress a yawn.

"Macy, can I have the last bowl of Crunchy Cats?" Liam asked.

"Yeah go ahead," Macy said dully.

Liam stared blankly at her sister. She was uncharacteristically not herself today.

"What?" Macy said clearly annoyed that her brother seemed to be staring at her like she was some sort of alien.

"I just asked to finish the last bowl of Crunchy Cats and you didn't even put up a fight," Liam explained. "What's the fun in that."

_Oh my gosh- her brother was so annoying._

"Just please leave me alone," Macy sighed. She really wasn't up to arguing with him today. She had a lot on her mind.

"Sweetie, are you okay? You're awfully quiet this morning," her mother pressed on.

Macy smiled up at her and said, "It's nothing, mom. I just couldn't sleep well."

"Why?" Liam pressed on. "Were you thinking about a boy? Was it Nick? I bet it was. Macy and Nick sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S—

"Liam! Shut up!" Macy said as she had to contain her urge to kick him from under the table. Her mom hated when they fought but Liam was very close to getting what he deserved.

"Hm...Nick?" his mother said. "Oh, is he that boy who was here yesterday?"

_Great. _Macy thought. _Now her mom was in on it to._

"Mom, there's nothing going on between me and Nick," Macy assured her while she tried to ignore the queasy feeling in her stomach when she mentioned his name. "We're just friends. Liam is just being an idiot for thinking up something ridiculous."

She glared at her brother who was still finishing the rhyme he started earlier.

After that Macy got up and quickly hurried to school. She hated when Liam got on her nerves especially when he was so close to the truth. Her brother wasn't the brightest kid in the block so it scared her how accurate he was this morning. _Was she that obvious?_ She couldn't have that. She needed to be the old chirpy Macy Misa. Yup, that's what she needed to do.

"Come on, Macy," she said to herself as she checked herself in one of the bathroom mirrors at Horace Mantis Academy. She washed her face with cold water to snap herself out of –well whatever it was she going through.

It was their last week of school so she put on her best smile and skipped her way down the hallway and was glad to spot three of her best people gathered together.

"Stella! Kevin! Joe!" she yelled at them excitedly. "I've missed you guys."

She hugged each and every one of them but lingered a little longer on the last two boys. She felt guilty that she wasn't able to spend as much time with them and she wanted to let them know that she still loved them all. She felt as if she somehow betrayed them and made it apparent when she said, "Sorry guys."

She didn't realized what she just said until she saw the perplexed expressions on each of their faces

"Sorry for what, Macy?" Kevin asked her utterly confused.

"Oh…um, you know," Macy said trying her best to come up with something quick. "For the…the PICTURES. Yeah those embarrassing shots I posted on my website. Sorry for –uh-doing that."

"That was a while back," Joe pointed out. "And I'm pretty sure we already forgave you for that. Macy, you're such a silly girl."

Joe gave her a playful nudge with his book bag.

When the boys continued their conversation, Stella still had a worried expression on her face as she looked at her best friend.

"Are you sure you're okay, Mace?" Stella asked. "You seem a bit out of it."

There was no fooling Stella. She knew her too well but really there was nothing to worry about. _She was fine. _

"Oh it's just that I couldn't sleep last night," Macy admitted which was the truth. Stella didn't really need to know the reason behind it.

"Here," Stella said handing her a tube of concealer. "To conceal those dark circles under your eyes."

Count on Stella to always have the right make-up product for every occasion. But at least, Joe and Kevin didn't suspect anything. That made her happy. She was crazy, silly Macy Misa to them and that itself made her heart warm. _See, she knew she still loved the Lucas boys like before._

Lucky for her, she made her way throughout the day without running into a certain curly brown haired boy so she was starting to believe that her feelings for Nick was just platonic and nothing more which was good because she was heading to tennis practice right now and she was determined to carry out her promise she made to him.

The girls' varsity team was changing into their uniform in the locker-room and Macy made her way towards Penny. She hid the tickets in her pocket before approaching her.

"Hey Penny!" Macy said sweetly but there it was again- that awful taste in her mouth when she said her name.

"Oh hi Mace," she said equally as sweet and cordial. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Macy said. "So how are things with you?"

"Good," Penny answered kind of surprised how friendly Macy was being since they really didn't talk that much to each other before.

"That's good," Macy said not really knowing what she was doing because she didn't really think it through. "So you and Jimmy are still…?"

"Ahh, no," Penny said hastily. "We're actually on a break right now."

Macy could tell she didn't want to expand into specifics, which really was no problem for her. That wasn't what she was there for.

"And how about you?" Penny asked politely. "And …um who was it again?"

"Oh Randolph? No, that didn't work out," Macy said. "We were just on two different levels. Anyway, you heard that Jonas is having a tour this summer, right?"

"Yeah, I did," Penny answered. "I would love to go to one of their shows although I still feel kind of bad though…"

"Oh?"

"I mean the whole Nick situation," she continued. "He wrote a song for me and I totally misunderstood his intentions. And well let's just say I still feel bad for what I did. Nick is such a great guy. It was so sweet of him to even do that…"

Macy's eyes narrowed. She couldn't believe she had the nerve to turn Nick down. Nick! The sweetest guy in the whole world! Of course, he would right a song about a girl he liked because he was _that kind of a guy_ that would put his feelings into songs.

What was so great about Penny anyway? Besides her perfect hair and perfect teeth and piercing blue eyes. If she was in her shoes she would be with Nick in a heartbeat…Who could say no to his intense gaze and curls to die for and those lips…_crap, she did not just go there again._

"Macy, was there something else you wanted to talk to me about? Sorry I don't mean to be rude but I really need to warm up now," Penny said.

Macy put on her best fake smile and realized she didn't deserve to have those tickets and told her that was all she wanted to say. However, if Macy could have it her way, there would be a bottomless vortex right next to her and Macy wouldn't think twice about throwing sweet Penny into it.

_Crap. Crap. Crap. _Macy repeated to herself as she banged her head against her locker. The school was deserted now since almost everyone left so Macy was free to wallow in her misery. All she had to do was give Penny the VIP and backstage passes and that was it. But no, Macy had to go far and beyond that and let the best of her emotions get to her and that was why Nick's precious Penny was laying in the infirmary with a bruised eye. Thankfully it was counted as an accident since Penny claimed she stepped into Macy's ace point. Penny really was a _sweet_ girl and that's why she felt even worse.

And if the day could not get anymore complicated, she, thinking she was alone, heard _his _voice calling her name.

"Macy!" Nick exclaimed. "Just the person I was looking for. Look at this!"

He handed her a piece of paper and at that moment, Macy forgot all her problems as she stared at the big fat 97 mark on his test.

"NICK YOU DID IT!" she cried out. "I'm so proud of you."

"It was all thanks to you," Nick said as he gave her a big hug. Macy felt like she could melt into his arms at that moment. "Wait till I tell the guys. We need to go out and celebrate."

Nick was waiting for Macy to chime in but was startled when she looked a bit crestfallen.

"What is it, Mace?"

"I think I'd have to pass," Macy said regretfully. "I have to help my mom out with some stuff at the store."

She said this as she pointed to the boxes of clothes next to her.

"Oh I see," Nick said now feeling a little bit sad himself. It wouldn't be right if she wasn't there. He really owed Macy a lot and not just him but everyone on the tour should thank this self-less and down-to-earth girl standing before him.

"You know what?" Nick said. "The festivities could wait. Let me help you get those."

"No really Nick," Macy argued. "You go have fun. I got this."

Nick smiled because he knew very well that Macy indeed was capable of carrying the two large boxes on her own. He'd been to some of her games that Joe dragged him to because he didn't want to be alone with Stella and have their time labeled together as a "date". She may be small but she was remarkably strong for a girl her size.

"No really Macy," Nick pleaded. "It's the least I could do for everything you've done for me. Let me just do you this one favor, please?"

It would take someone with no heart to refuse him now. How could Macy resist when Nick was looking at her with puppy-dog eyes. _Why was he so gorgeous?_ So she gave in. At first she thought it would be awkward especially since she was feeling something unexplainable towards him. But that wasn't the case. She realized that just being with Nick was so easy. When they reached her store, she found herself laughing at him when he decided to try on a matador outfit and then a pirate one. Nick forgot how much fun he had trying on new outfits when they were stuck in Macy's thrift store that one time with his brothers.

"Wow, you have great stuff here," Nick said as he changed out of his final costume and joined to help Macy as she unpacked the uniforms the school donated to her store.

"Yeah, you can seriously find any outfit known to man in here," Macy replied. "We even have a complete ninja outfit plus sword. That should be something Kevin would like."

"Oh yeah he's into that whole martial arts scene," Nick said. "And for Joe?"

Macy thought. There really was no outfit in the store that just screamed Joe.

"Hm…well Joe looks good in anything," Macy replied and did her best imitation of Joe for Nick which Nick found completely hilarious. "_Look at me I'm so cool and suave._"

"He is a bit conceited, isn't he?" Nick said in between laughs.

"Yeah but I mean every boy band has to at least have one," Macy answered matter-of-factly. "Like how there should always be a goofy and out-going one, like Kevin and a quiet and serious one like you."

"Do you really think I'm that serious?"

Macy was caught off guard by his question because he seemed a bit hurt by her description of him.

"It's not a bad thing," Macy assured him. "But you have to admit that you are the serious one compared to your brothers."

"Yeah they can be a bit much at times," Nick agreed.

"Yeah, I can definitely see that," Macy said. "But you're perfect the way you are. How you're always so focused and how you can always write the perfect song to express how you're feeling. And it's really amazing how you connect with your fans and those around you. And you're so easy to hang out with. That's why I love you."

"Thank – wait what?" Nick asked as he just registered the last thing she said.

"I mean that's why- uh- the fans, like me, -er- love you because of the –uh- energy you give off in your music," Macy rambled, relieved that she just saved herself from yet another embarrassing situation but little did she know the effect her words had on the boy in front of her.

_Of course that's what she meant,_ Nick thought to himself. _She didn't literally mean she loves you. _That was something dream-Macy would say not the real-Macy sitting next to him. He discretely put his hand over his chest just in case Macy had super sonic hearing and could hear how loudly his heart was beating right now. The room suddenly got really hot and he felt his mouth become dry.

"Nick, are you okay?" Macy asked him. "You look a bit overwhelmed."

"What? No, I'm fine," he reassured her and he cleared his throat and said, "Looks like we're about done sorting these out."

He went to grab the last pile of clothes at the same time she went for them and when his hand accidentally touched hers, they both flinched from what could only be described as an electrical shock.

"Sorry," they apologized simultaneously with a blush both staining both their cheeks.

They put the stuff away quietly and carefully avoiding anymore physical contact with each other.

"Thanks again, Nick," Macy said when she put the last uniform on the shelf. "You were really a big help."

"No problemo," Nick replied as he helped Macy carry the empty boxes out to the recycle bin in front of the store.

She knew Nick would be leaving soon and she had to say it. It was only fair after all.

"Look Nick before you go I just have to tell you that…"she said as she reached for the items from her back pocket. "I know I promised and all but I think it would be best if you gave these to –ahem- Penny yourself. She'll be really touched by the gesture itself. Don't worry though. I did find out she and Jimmy were on a break so it's all good."

She added the last bit just in case he was upset with her, which would be justified since she did make the suggestion to give them to Penny only to repeal the offer the next day. She looked up at him waiting for his response.

Nick knew she was waiting for his reaction…and to be honest, he was surprised to find that he had none. In fact, he wasn't really thinking of Penny right now. What _was_ going through his mind was how the sun, which was just beginning to set, brought out her natural highlights in her hair and it was only at this moment that he noticed how big her almond-shaped eyes really were and how pink her lips were. He had a sudden urge to kiss-_WOAH, don't even go there man. She was Macy Misa…You can't possible like her in that way,_ he reminded himself.

This was even worse than she expected. He wasn't saying anything. Maybe he was so mad at her that he couldn't even formulate any words to express how angry he was because he was counting on her to deliver the tickets to Penny. But the expression on his face conflicted with this line of thought. There was no sign of contempt. Instead he seemed to be waiting for something…so she spoke again.

"I'm really sorry, Nick," she said now frowning. "I completely understand if you are angry at me but…I just can't do it…"

Silence.

"Nick?" she said waving a hand in front of him. "Are you there?"

"What? Oh yeah the tickets," he said trying to regain his composure. He did hear what she was saying and he came up with a better suggestion himself.

"You know what Mace?" He said. "Just keep them. They're yours."

"Are you for real?" Macy asked completely shocked. This was not what she expected at all.

"Yeah I mean I can't think of anyone who deserves it more than you," Nick said casually with his signature smirk on his face. "You did save the tour."

He said that as he nudged her with his elbow.

Macy smiled. She never thought of it in that way.

"I did didn't I?" she said happily and without thinking she gave him a hug.

"I'm sorry!" Macy said as she realized what she had done. "I know you don't like receiving hugs especially if you didn't initiate it."

"No, no- ahem- it's fine," he said as he felt his heart start racing again. "I should-uh- be leaving now."

"Bye," she called after him as she watched him leave. She put her hand on her chest because the feeling she had before returned. However, this time she understood why her heart felt as if it could burst out of her chest.

Macy Misa was no longer a fool to her emotions because she realized at this very moment that the feeling that had been brewing inside of her all along was not related to her past fan-crazed infatuation. She had been looking at it all wrong because what she was feeling had nothing to do with the band Jonas. If her suspicions were right, Macy was starting to fall in love with Nick Lucas, the boy- not the band member.


	5. Chapter 5

Ch. 5 180 degrees

It was quite hectic at the Jonas Camp now that the tour was officially back on. Everyone was busy talking about the set list and Stella even came over to help sort out what clothes the boys needed to wear during the tour. Joe and Kevin were talking with their dad and Nick…well, he seemed to be in his own world. _It's been two days…_was all he could think about, two days since the last time he spoke with Macy. He was pretty sure distancing himself from her for that long will cause the weird feeling in the pit of his stomach to go away. But that wasn't the case. All he could think about was how the sunset made her look completely different that afternoon. He couldn't explain what it was he was feeling and frankly, he wasn't sure if he really wanted to delve into it. There was a tour that needed to be planned after all. Instead of lounging around in his bed he knew he should be helping out.

Mr. Lucas was going over the set list with Joe and Kevin and asked, "Since when did we decide to open with _Work It Out? _I thought we agreed on _Time is On Our Side?_"

Joe started to explain, "Oh that, well, we were planning on doing that but then Macy—

"What?" Nick said abruptly,having been brought back to reality upon hearing her name.

"Well, aren't we glad to have you back," Kevin said as they all stared at him after his sudden outburst.

"Sorry about that," Nick apologized. _Snap out of it, Nick._ "What were we talking about?"

"The set list," his father said. "I didn't know we changed the opening number."

"Yeah, Macy," and there it was again that weird sensation he felt going through his body when he said her name. "…thought it would be a better idea to open with that and I agree. It's better that way."

"Okay, I just need to call the people in the venue so they know about the change," his father/manager told them.

"Nick, are you okay, bro?" Joe asked clearly concerned about his brother's odd behavior.

"I'm fine," Nick answered giving them a rather forced smile so they would drop it. "Just tired that's all."

And that was partly true because for the past couple of days it has been quite hard for him to have a good night's rest. He wasn't sure if he liked sleeping now that his dreams were taking a dangerous habit of surprising him when he least expected it. There were still dreams about Penny but those were short-lived. Instead a majority of his unconsciousness involved the brunette girl who he was now avoiding. And last night was no different because now his dreams involved incorporating real-life scenarios and tweaking them a bit. For example, last night, dream-Nick found himself standing in her room at that moment when he walked in on her changing. But because dream-Nick had more courage than his real self could ever have, he found himself walking over to the half-naked Macy Misa and taking her into his arms as he shared a rather passionate kiss with her and let's just say the dream continued even further leaving real-Nick to wake up suddenly in the middle of the night only to rush to the bathroom to relieve some _tension._

Thankfully, he must have been doing a good job hiding what was really bothering him because no one suspected anything. These were the times when he was really grateful that his brothers were as dense as they were.

It was the last day of school and Nick was busy emptying his locker while Joe was pouring out all his emotional problems to him and Kevin.

"And I don't know if I want to just stay friends with Stella," Joe continued on saying. "I really want to see where it goes when we take it to the next level but…I'm not sure if she feels the same way."

"Well, why don't you wait until after the tour to sort out your feelings," Nick said logically. "You don't want to rush into anything right now. Hopefully by then you'll figure out if Stella is really your lady love or just a really good friend."

"That's true," Joe said thinking it over. "Why do you always have to be right, Nick?"

Before he could respond, Kevin butted in and said, "Speaking of lady love. Here comes yours right now, Nick."

"Kevin," Nick said in his borderline- irritated voice while still facing his locker as he was loading his books into his bag. "How many times do I have to tell you, Macy and I are just friends?"

"Hi, Nick."

He gulped. That wasn't Macy. Slowly turning around while catching a glimpse of Kevin who was giving him a look that said _who else did you think I was talking about_, he found himself face-to-face with the blonde-hair blue-eyed beauty.

"Oh, hey Penny," Nick greeted. His brothers quickly turned around pretending to be busy looking at stuff in their lockers but he knew very well that they were eavesdropping. He didn't mind though. He looked at her again and more importantly asked, "What happened to your eye?"

"Let's just say I had a minor mishap during tennis practice," she answered as she smiled sweetly at him. "Look, I just want to wish you the best of luck on your tour."

"Thanks," Nick said slowly. It was weird that he wasn't experiencing any of the symptoms- sweaty palms, dry throat, fast heart rate- like he did when he spoke to Penny before. Maybe he was becoming more courageous like dream-Nick than he initially thought.

"And I know it's been a while but I just hope there's no hard feelings between us," Penny said. Clearly, her talk with Macy was a reason why she was reaching out to Nick. "I mean I hate for you to think any less of me before summer starts."

"What? Of course not!" Nick assured her. He honestly forgot about the whole incident with Jimmy… or was it Johnny? "Everything's cool between us. It's awesome."

"Well I'm glad," Penny said flashing her winning smile at him. "I hope to catch one of your shows this summer. I know you'll be amazing."

"Thanks, Penny."

"Okay, well bye," Penny said sweetly as she turned and left.

"Bye," Nick called out after her.

And when she was clearly gone, Joe hit him over the head.

"What's the matter with you! She was totally flirting with you. Why didn't you give her the tickets you've been waiting to give to her!"

Nick hoped his brother could just drop the subject but they wouldn't budge.

"That would have been perfect," Kevin jumped in. "And they call me the slow one."

Nick muttered his response hoping it would end this discussion.

"What was that again?" Joe asked.

"I gave them to someone else already," Nick said hastily and walked away from them hoping that they won't pester him even more but he could hear their footsteps right behind him.

"Who'd you give them to?" Joe asked as he put his arm around his shoulder so he wouldn't run away.

"Yeah, I thought you only had sights for the angelic Penny," Kevin added.

Nick really didn't want to say her name again especially since he brought her name up before when he didn't have to. But they wouldn't let it go. He let out a big sigh showing his obvious irritation with them.

"I gave them to Macy okay?" he said as he ducked away from his brother's grasp and faced them. "I mean, it's not like _that_. It was the least I could do, right? She did help me out and it wouldn't be fair not to thank her in any way. That's why I gave them to her. She's just a friend. Purely platonic. Nothing more. Okay?"

"Woah, chill bro," Joe said taken aback by Nick's outburst. "We weren't even thinking that."

"Yeah," Kevin said. "I mean that makes sense. She did help you out, well actually she helped all of us out if you think about it."

"Exactly," Nick said while breathing a sigh of relief. He was glad they understood his reason for giving them to Macy…even if he wasn't so sure himself.

Luckily, when they got home his parents left him and his brothers a whole list of things to do before they headed out for their tour, leaving him little time to think about a certain someone.

"Don't forget to put all your old clothes into this bag," their mother yelled. "And Joe when everyone's done be sure to drop them off at the thrift store!"

Upon hearing this, Nick stopped what he was doing. It's not that Nick was possessive or anything. He just didn't like sharing things that shouldn't be shared so when he heard that Joe would be going to Macy's thrift store to drop off clothes Nick uncharacteristically yelled, "NO!"

Joe stared at him utterly confused.

"No? Are you saying I should defy mom's orders?" Joe asked incredulously because everyone knew Nick was a big momma's boy at heart.

"I mean I'll do it myself," Nick said quickly. "I was going there anyways to- um…give Macy back her calculator."

"Cool. Okay then. That saves me a trip," Joe said thankfully.

It normally took ten minutes to walk to the thrift store but it was taking Nick much longer than that because his head was full of heavy thoughts. For instance, he really didn't understand why he just volunteered to go out of his way to carry a bag of heavy clothes across town when it was Joe's responsibility. Maybe he was being a good brother or he just didn't want Joe to spend any one-on-one time with Macy. He was a big flirt after all and Macy was really nice. He was afraid that they'll be…more than friends…? That idea didn't even make sense in his head. Besides, Joe was completely head over heels for Stella. He would never hit on Macy. That was absolutely ridiculous.

_So why did he feel the need to see her?_ Nick scratched his head and then it came to him. It was because he hasn't seen Macy for a while and he missed her. Right? Friends can miss each other on a completely platonic level. _Yup that had to be it. _

And with that revelation he began walking faster. He couldn't help it if he missed Macy Misa. _She was his good friend_ _after all._

It was those rare moments when Macy and Liam were getting along and Mrs. Misa did not want to bother them as they played catch in their back yard. She was in the middle of sorting out the delivery that came in that morning when the store bell rang and she saw a familiar boy walk in carrying a rather large bag of clothes.

"Hello, may I help you?"

"Um, yeah," Nick said somewhat disappointed that it wasn't Macy behind the counter. "I just wanted to donate these clothes."

"Oh great," Macy's mom said sweetly. "You can just leave that over there."

He did but Mrs. Misa could tell he didn't intend to leave just yet.

"Wait a minute. You're that Lucas boy—

"Yes, ma'am, Nick Lucas."

"Yes, Nick. Now I remember! Macy says many great things about you. You're part of that band, right?"

"Yes, ma'am. Jonas. It's just me and my brothers."

Mrs. Misa could tell that this boy didn't just come here to bring clothes the way he was shifting uncomfortably back and forth. He seemed like a really nice boy so as much as she didn't want to disrupt this rare moment when her children were getting along she just couldn't disappoint this charming young man.

"Liam!" Macy yelled at her brother. "Throw it over here!"

Macy knew her brother could be cool when he wasn't annoying and right now she was having a great time playing catch with him that is until they were interrupted.

"Macy! You have a visitor," her mom called as she led Nick to the back.

Macy wasn't expecting anyone coming by but when she saw who it was her heart began to race. There he was…It's been awhile since she spoke to Nick…but she remembered it clearly because that was when she realized her true feelings towards him.

"Nick," she said under her breath.

"Liam, why don't we leave these two alone," her mom called. "You can help make dinner."

"Aww, mom, do I have to?"

But his mother gave him a look that spoke volumes and so he left the yard.

But before he went inside, Macy saw him wiggle his eyebrow and mimicked kissing someone. She glared at him but she was thankful that Nick's back was towards him and didn't see anything.

"So…" Nick said nervously. He didn't work out what he was planning to say as he walked over to her. "How are you doing…buddy?"

He said this as he playfully punched her arm.

_Did he just call me…_

_Did I just call her…_

"I'm okay…uh…pal," Macy said as she too playfully punched his arm as well. They stood there for a while not saying anything and looking at everything but each other.

Macy couldn't take this silence. She had to put her feelings aside and even though her heart was beating so fast right now she knew she let him down because she was suppose to be his friend and friends don't ignore each other for a whole week. But she had her reasons. She just didn't know how to face him especially when she figured out how she felt about him…she didn't want her heart to be broken especially if he didn't return her feelings. But now guilt came over her because she knew she was being selfish and he came over just to see her.

"It's been awhile," she finally said as she had the courage to look up at him.

"Yeah," Nick agreed and without thinking said, "I missed you."

_Did he just say he missed me? Boy, was he full of surprises today,_ Macy thought. She could feel her cheeks burn up and she was about to say that she missed him as well—

that is until he corrected himself…

"I mean I missed seeing you in school," he said quickly. "Because I needed to give back your…uh calculator…which I clearly don't have right now."

_Great way to make a fool of yourself,_ Nick thought to himself as he nervously scratched the back of his head. _Get a grip, Nick. Why are you so nervous. She's just Macy. Your friend._

Thankfully, before he could say anything even more stupid, Macy salvaged the situation by asking about the tour.

"We're actually leaving on Saturday," he said trying his best to be calm and cool. "5 in the morning."

"Wow, that's really early," Macy said but she was really thinking about how soon that was until he left. "It takes me forever to get up in the morning. I don't know how you do it."

"It's really no problem for me but for Joe…man, sometimes we have to carry him into the bus," Nick said which made Macy giggle. He never realized how cute her laugh was until now.

Macy was tossing the baseball up in the air. She looked at Nick and asked, "So you want to play?"

Nick smiled and nodded his head. And just like that all awkwardness disappeared. It was just so comfortable being with her. He didn't know why he was so nervous before. Hours must have passed because the sky was now dark and the streetlights were turning on.

"And you just hold it like that," Macy said as she showed him how to throw a perfect curve ball.

He tried it and _viola!_ he was able to copy the perfect curve ball that Macy just showed him.

"Is there anything you can't do, Macy?" Nick asked in awe as he took a seat next to her on the stairs of her back patio.

"Do you not remember the whole Malcolm Mekle situation?"

"Yes, I remember," Nick laughed. "Sorry about that by the way."

"What are you apologizing for?" Macy said as she nudged him on his shoulder. "It's good to be aware of your weakness. No one's perfect."

"That's very true," Nick said as he smiled back at her.

"So you know my weakness, what's yours?" Macy asked him playfully.

But he didn't hear what she said because at that moment she looked at him with that same thoughtful expression she had when the sun was setting that one afternoon. He suddenly felt weak. _Since when did Macy look like this?_ Because what he wanted to do more than anything was to touch her…

Macy didn't recognize the look on his face but it was giving her chills. Her heart began to race because more than anything she wanted to touch him.

Then, to ruin the moment, his cell phone rang reeling both of them back to reality.

Nick reluctantly picked up his phone. It was getting late and he had to go home.

"Yeah I guess time flies when you're having fun," Macy said fretfully.

She really didn't want him to go and he didn't want to leave.

She walked him to the front door but she just couldn't let go of that moment because she had a gut feeling that Nick wanted it as much as she did.

"Nick…" she whispered just as he was about to walk out the front door.

"Yeah?" he said quickly turning around. She was giving him that same look that he now found out made his knees weak. He placed his hand on the jamb of the door to keep him from falling.

He still wasn't sure what her probing eyes were waiting for but his body seemed to have figured it out as he felt himself dip his head closer to hers. His heart was now beating so fast he didn't think he could take it any longer. He needed her.

She held her breath and closed her eyes. She could hear her heart beating through her whole body. _This was what she was waiting for…_

The air stood still as their lips were now inches away from each other. Macy just needed to tilt her head up more and Nick just need to bend his head a little bit. And the moment would have been perfect if it wasn't for-

"MAAACCCY!" cried out Liam.

They backed away from each other afraid that they would be caught in a rather intimate moment.

"It's time for dinner," Liam said as he made his way down the stairs oblivious to the fact that he interrupted something special. "Mom said your friend can join us if he wants."

"Ahem…no, thank you," he said as cleared his throat which was now very dry and he just noticed how sweaty his palms were. "I should be going now."

"Yeah, it's getting really late," Macy said not hiding the sadness in her voice. Nick quickly waved goodbye.

She couldn't believe that they were foiled twice. _Maybe it wasn't meant to be?_

"Bye!" she called after him as he ran down the block. She let out a loud sigh.

But boy, was he running fast because Nick was scared of what just happened _or what could have happened. _This was not what he hoped to find when he visited Macy this afternoon. He ran all the way home and he needed to catch his breath. But a thought kept running through his head. _Since when did Macy Misa become his weakness?_

Nick was afraid to look back because if he remembered everything Macy taught him about geometry, he had a hunch that he made a complete 180 degree turn from where he started from.


	6. Chapter 6

Ch. 6 Until We Meet Again…

"_Nick…" she whispered just as he was about to walk out the front door_

"_Yeah?" he said quickly turning around. She was giving him that same look that he now found out made his knees weak. He placed his hand on the jamb of the door to keep him from falling. _

_He still wasn't sure what her probing eyes were waiting for but his body seemed to have figured it out as he felt himself dip his head closer to hers. His heart was now beating so fast he didn't think he could take it any longer. He needed her._

_She held her breath and closed her eyes. She could hear her heart beating through her whole body. This was what she was waiting for…_

_The air stood still as their lips were now inches away from each other. Macy just needed to tilt her head up more and Nick just needed to bend his head a little bit. _

_And then it happened in all its glory._

_When her lips touched his, it was even more than she ever imagined. The connection she felt was so strong and electrifying. It was a bit overwhelming but there was nowhere in the world she would rather be than in Nick's embrace. She wrapped her arms around him as their kiss deepened and her very being was shaken to its core. She felt like she was floating up into the sky as Nick held her tightly to his body. She was kissing him now as if it was part of her survival and he was kissing her back with so much force, she felt like she could break into tiny little pieces in his arms. Her fingers ran through his hair and it was as soft as she imagined it would be._

"_Macy," he whispered when they broke away from their intense kiss. "I'm in love with you."_

_Macy was speechless. She was so happy. Nick placed a finger to her chin and tilted her face up towards him once more as he leaned in for another kiss._

_That was how it should have happened if they weren't interrupted_, Macy thought as she looked out her bedroom window. Actually, that was by far her favorite rendition of what could have happened if Liam hadn't walked in. It was 1 in the morning and Macy hasn't slept a wink because all she was thinking about was all the different possibilities of what could have happened between her and Nick at that fateful moment.

She was sitting by her desk and laid her head in her folded arms. She wanted to scream in frustration because her heart was aching with a longing to be with the boy she loved. _Why did love have to hurt this much?_ She was very aware of her feelings towards Nick and until yesterday she thought the feelings were one-sided. But there was no mistake that yesterday she wasn't the only one who leaned in for that almost-kiss. _Could Nick possibly like her back? _She didn't want to assume anything just yet but she wanted to know so badly. She needed to hear it from him. She just had to know.

In the other side of town, Nick found himself having another sleepless night. But it wasn't due to any racy dreams that were keeping him up. Like Macy, he couldn't stop replaying _that_ scene. But unlike Macy who already knew how she felt, Nick was at a lost at trying to explain why at that moment his knees felt like they were going to give way and why his heart felt as if they could burst from beating so fast_._ Macy was his friend and as far as he could remember he never felt compelled to kiss his female friends. For all those years he had known Stella not once did he ever felt the need to lean in and kiss her on her lips …but why _Macy, out of all people? _

Nick groaned in frustration. He was a logical sort of guy and he hated when things didn't make sense…His brain was probably so exhausted from thinking about it so much because the only logical explanation he could come up with on why he attempted to kiss Macy was because he was falling for her. He shook his head because that _possibly couldn't be it._ There was no way he was in _love with Miss Macy Misa, _the girl who on the first day of meeting them managed to injure not one but all three members of Jonas. He scoffed at the idea because there was no chance he would ever admit that…even if it was _true. NO! What was he thinking? Of course, it wasn't true, right?_

He tossed and turned in his bed trying to find the best position to go to sleep but it was hopeless because there was an annoying voice inside of his head that kept telling him that the reason why he wanted to kiss Macy was because his feelings for her were changing.

Macy did manage to get a few hours of sleep. Even though she was still a bit tired, she was determined to find out how Nick felt. It was Friday and he was leaving the next day for his tour and Macy needed to know how he felt about her.

She was halfway down her block when her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Ma-cy, can you please …come over?"

It was Stella, her best friend in the whole world and by the sound of her voice she could tell she was having a break-down. She needed her more and as much as she wanted to see Nick, she turned around and headed towards Stella's house instead.

When she got there, it was worse than she imagined. Stella's clothes were all over the place and the luggage she was suppose to be packing for France for her fashion internship was completely empty. Stella was balled up in a corner holding her legs close to her body as she sat crying on the floor.

"Stella! Oh my goodness, what happened? Are you okay?" Macy asked very concerned at the emotional and physical state of her best friend. She rushed to her side to comfort her.

"Ma-cy…I don't know…" the blond-haired fashionista said in between sobs. "I can't…I just can't go…I need to be with him…"

Macy wrapped her arms around Stella who was balling her eyes out. She hated seeing her like this when she seemed so lost. The Stella she knew was strong, at least much stronger than herself, and she was always put together. But right now she seemed so frail and fragile.

"It's going to be okay sweetie," Macy said as she cradled Stella in her arms. "What is this all about?"

"Joe! Who else?" she answered frustrated not towards Macy but at herself. "I thought I could do this. But I can't. I just CAN'T…I can't go to France. I need to be with him and tell him how I feel."

"Stella, calm down for a minute," Macy said as she grabbed Stella's hand when she got up. "You don't want to do anything rash. Why don't we talk about it? You can tell me."

And so Stella told her everything. How she was dreading today because she knew she was going to have a complete melt-down. She told Macy how she realized just now how she truly felt about Joe and that she wanted to be more than friends with him.

"I know it's just a month," Stella continued. "But do you know how long that is when you're in love with the most amazing guy ever?"

Macy gulped. She didn't really think about that. A month was really long…Part of her wanted to tell Stella about her feelings for Nick but that was beside the point and Stella already had so much to think about. _No, this is Stella time,_ she told herself. _That can wait for later on._

But before she could say anything, Stella stood up and said with so much gusto, "I got it! I'm not going to France. I'm going to stay and tell him how I feel."

"What?"

"Yes, Macy, don't you get it when you're this in love, you just need to be with that person," Stella said. Macy was afraid she was becoming delusional because she was throwing away everything she wanted.

"So you're just going to abandon this once in a life time fashion internship? The one that you've been waiting years to get into?" Macy asked incredulously.

"Yes, so what?"

"Stella, you can't just do that," Macy reasoned with her. "How do you think that will make Joe feel?"

"Why does it matter what Joe feels?" Stella said snappishly. She didn't like how her best friend in the whole world wasn't backing her up at this crucial moment.

"Because he's not going to feel all that great after he learns you sacrificed your life time dream to shadow one of the greatest fashion icons of this century to be with him," Macy said. "You can't place that guilt on him."

"What?"

"Stella, you and Joe have this really special connection," Macy continued. "And because both of you will always have this strong bond, a month is not going to even put a dent in your relationship with him."

Stella listened to what she had to say.

"And…" Macy continued even further. "Sometimes one of the greatest things you can do when you're in love is let that person go."

"Are you saying I should forget about Joe?" Stella said saddened by this fact.

"No, I'm not saying that at all," Macy answered as she took special meaning on what she was about to say. "It's just that there's a time for everything and right now isn't the time. You both have so much going on for you. You don't want to hold him back and he certainly wouldn't want to hold you back."

"So you're saying I shouldn't go to him?"

Macy shook her head as she finally realized something herself.

"Because if you love him so much, then you'll wait for him," Macy said. "The same way he'll wait for you. And I believe if you can do that…it just proves that the love you have for each is stronger than you can ever imagine."

Stella was slowly coming to her senses. She looked at Macy differently now.

"Macy, since when were you this deep?"

"I'm not sure," she replied because she really didn't know where all of this was coming from.

"You're so lucky, Mace," Stella said now that she calmed down and took Macy's advice.

"Huh? Why?" Macy asked confused.

"You're not in love with a rock star," Stella answered simply. "Believe me. It's hard work."

"Oh…yeah. I can't imagine," Macy lied because she did know how it felt if the pain in her heart was any indication.

Meanwhile, back in the Lucas household everyone was out and about getting ready for the big day tomorrow. Joe and Nick were left in charge of making sure everything was packed in everyone's trunks while both their parents, Kevin and Frankie were making last minute errands. This was a good time for Nick to reach out to Joe because who was the best person to ask about what it was like to fall in love with someone since Joe was head over heels for Stella.

Because he had a lot of time to think about it last night, Nick realized he couldn't just jump to the conclusion that he was in love with Macy if he was _never in love before. _There was nothing for him to gauge his emotions from- _none whatsoever_. So he tried his best to be very diplomatic about it.

"Joe, can I ask you something?" Nick said trying to be very casual about it all.

"Yeah, sure anything," Joe answered. He was obviously surprised that Nick wanted to know something from him. He never did that before. In fact, as far as he could remember Nick never once asked for his help on anything so this was a pretty big deal.

"How do you know if you love someone?"

Joe was clearly taken aback because he didn't expect his little bro to ask him something like that.

"Love? Hm…why do you ask?"

"Just curious that's all," Nick said as he pretended to look for something in his trunk but he was definitely all ears to what he had to say.

"Well…"Joe started slowly. He wanted to get it right so he took a while to answer because he really needed to think about it. "It's like riding a bike…"

"A bike?"

"You know that feeling when you're learning to ride a bike? How you're afraid to just let go of the ground because you're too scared to fall?"

"Yeah…"

"Love is like that…well it starts off that way. At first, you're too scared to get your feet off the ground because you don't want to fall and get hurt. But you know you're in love with someone when you take the risk and let go and start pedaling," Joe continued visibly happy that this was actually making sense. "And you don't stop pedaling because you know you can't go back anymore. That person becomes everything to you and you don't care as long as you reach her. It becomes second nature. Because like riding a bike, once you learn how to love you can never forget that feeling."

"Wow," was all Nick could say because he didn't expect such a profound explanation from his brother who was always known as a goof ball. He looked over at him and he could tell that Joe was thinking about Stella.

Then he looked at everything that happened between him and Macy. How everything about her seemed completely different, the way she looked, the way she smiled, the way she made him feel all warm inside…everything was starting to make sense. Because it wasn't Macy who was different…it was him. He was _changing_. He didn't realize that he was falling in love because he was too scared to admit that to himself. He never knew what love was until she came into his life. He just ignored all the signs because he was trying to protect himself. Even though he had crushes before the feelings he had for girls like Penny and Maria were nothing compared to the feelings he now had for Macy. It was stronger and that's what scared him. He was never consumed with the presence of another person before. He liked to be a lone wolf. However, that was no longer the case.

It felt like a veil had been lifted because he was starting to see everything clearly now.

If he was using Joe's analogy correctly, Nick at that very moment was taking his feet off the ground and started pedaling. He realized that the girl he wanted to ride his bike towards was none other than Macy Misa.

He needed to see her.

"Hey, Nick, is this for a song you're writing?" Joe asked. "Is that why you asked that question?"

Nick slowly smiled and shrugged, "Maybe."

He asked Joe to cover for him because he needed to do something. Nick ran as fast as he could. He didn't care that it just started to rain he needed to tell Macy how he felt.

"Oh, Nick, sweetie, she went out for the day," Mrs. Misa told him. "She said she needed to see her friend."

"Can you tell her that I came by? I really need to speak with her," he said eagerly.

"Okay, sure thing," Mrs. Misa said a bit concerned because the boy was obviously anxious about something.

It was already late and Macy didn't realize that the time flew so quickly. There was no way she could go see Nick now but she wasn't sure if she even needed to after having that talk with Stella.

"Thanks, Macy, for everything," Stella said as she gave her a big hug.

"What are sisters for?" Macy answered as she gave her a tight squeeze because the bond they shared now was closer than just best friends.

She reached home past 10 pm. And her mother wasn't too happy about that. Macy was about to head up to her room after being grounded for the next two days when her mother called her back down.

"Before I forget, your friend Nick came by," her mother said. "He was looking for you."

"Really?" asked Macy, who was noticeably surprised by this news. "Did he say what for?"

"No, but he was really, really anxious to see you," her mother said with a suspicious look in her eye. "Did something happen between you two?"

"N-no, of course not," Macy assured her. She went to bed and that was when she checked her phone and saw that she missed twenty calls from Nick and a dozen text messages which all said the same thing.

'_Macy, I really need to talk to you. It's important. –Nick'_

It was 5 in the morning and Nick kept checking his phone and looking outside his window for any sign of Macy. But nothing.

It was just his luck that Joe didn't sleep in. In fact, he was the first one to wake up. Nick tried to buy some time by going back into the house and made countless excuses that he forgot something because he knew she would come by. He just knew it.

"Wait! I think I forgot my other pair of sneakers!" Nick exclaimed as the engine of the bus was revving up.

"Are you serious, bro?" Kevin exclaimed. "Since when have you been so forgetful?"

"Just let me go back, it will be quick I promise," Nick pleaded and when his father nodded he bolted out of the bus.

Once he was inside the house, he tried calling her one last time. But it went straight to voice mail. He decided to give up. _Get a grip, Nick, she's not coming by. _He was out the door and slowly walked back to the bus until—

"NICK!"

He turned around and said under his breath, "Macy…"

She ran up to him and gave him a big hug. She wanted to remember his scent before he left. Nick took a deep breath because he wanted to remember how she always smelled like lilacs.

"I thought you weren't coming," Nick said as they finally let go of each other.

"Are you kidding? I couldn't let you leave without saying good bye," Macy said cheerfully.

He could tell she was out of breath. She must have run all the way here.

"Have a great tour," she said. She knew it was going to be hard as she felt a lump in her throat. "I hope you have fun but not too much fun."

"Macy…" Nick could feel his heart clamp up. He took her hands into his. He had to tell her. This was the time to let her know before he left for his month long tour. "I need to tell you something important. It took me forever to realize it but what I have to say is…that…I think I lov–

But Macy surprised him when she put a finger to his lips to stop him.

"I know, Nick," she said clearly understanding what he wanted to say. "But now's not the time because… I'll wait for you…"

And it happened very quickly but he felt it…_Oh did he feel it._ His hand went up to his lips where Macy's lips just seconds ago pressed against his.

"Until we meet again…?" Macy said hopefully.

All Nick could do was nod because his body felt all tingly inside from that kiss and this time he knew why he felt this way. He was no longer afraid to admit it.

She waved good-bye and walked away. Macy knew it was the right thing to do. She couldn't let him say those words to her right then and there. She needed to let him go... at least for now. It would just end up being more complicated for the both of them if they both confessed their feelings.

_It wasn't the right time_ _because she knew her heart wouldn't be able to take it._

Macy had no luck stopping the tears that were streaming down her cheeks.

_Come on Macy, you're stronger than this. He's only a boy…a boy who stole your heart._

"I… love you, too," Macy whispered hoping he could hear her somehow.

_He was really someone special to her._

Nick felt it, too. He didn't want her to leave but she was right. Now wasn't the time to confess. He watched her as she left. He felt like a part of his heart was walking away from him.

_Come on Nick, you're better than this. After all, she was just a girl… a girl who you are completely in love with._

His lips were still warm from her kiss and all he could do was smile.

"I'll wait for you too," he whispered hoping that she heard him somehow.

_She was really one of a kind. _

"What's with that smile?" Kevin questioned Nick as he finally stepped into the tour bus.

"It's like you got hit with the love-bug again," Joe said jokingly.

Nick just shook his head because his brothers had no idea how deep in he already was.

"Guys, stop bothering him," Frankie said. Nick knew he could always count on his little bro to have his back when his older brothers were picking on him. "He's… just pleasantly surprised."

Frankie looked at him and winked. Nick just laughed. At times like this, he sometimes forgot his little brother was just eight-years-old.

"Are you guys pumped for this tour or what?" Nick said excitedly. "Let's get rolling."

He took his seat on the bus and looked out the window.

"Until we meet again…_Macy_" he whispered as his fingers gracefully lingered on his lips.

**THE END.**

Closing remarks:

_Well, not really THE END…just cue in JONAS L.A. after this, when Nick and Macy meet again and we all know what happen in L.A. I hope this story did the whole NACY story gap some justice because I believe they deserve at least that much. What inspired me to write this story was after watching the first episode of JONAS L.A. and Nick said to Macy "It's really good to see you." I was wondering how is it that Nick was happy to see Macy when all she ever did was injure him with sports equipment. If anything, it would have run a lot smoother if Kevin was cast as the love interest since he was the one who interacted with Macy the most in Season 1. Therefore, I wanted the Nacy romance to make sense and that's how this happened._

_Other inspirations? Music. Yes, when I have writer's block I play music to help me get my creative juices flowing. (For those curious the "soundtrack" to this story included: Bruno Mars- "Just the Way You Are" and "All About You" for the romantic moments, the Scala & Kolacny Brothers's cover of Radiohead's song "Creep", which was perfect for all those Nick/ Macy moments when they couldn't understand their feelings especially during the later chapters, and Pink's "Please Don't Leave Me" for the final chapter.)_

_I tried to keep everyone in the story as much in character as possible while also introducing new characters (mostly Macy's family). Why the name Liam? Because I just like that name. I really had fun writing this. I hope you enjoyed it! _

_If you loved it, great! If you hate it, then you hate it. It's my first fan-fiction so please take that into consideration. Review! I'd love to hear your feedback. Thanks!_

-Penelope36


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